There is no team in all of college football so loathsome, so utterly despicable as Michigan.

A bold claim, you say?

Not when considering Michigan has more Division I-A victories, Big Ten championships, television appearances and butts in its stadium seats than any other school in the country.

Not when accounting for Michigan's great uniforms, great fight song, great stadium and great tradition.

Yeah, Michigan -- especially if you believe everything you read and hear from the college football media -- is pretty darn great.

And it's sickening.

This program stirs up the perfect mixture of jealousy, distaste and contempt in fans all across Big Ten Country, and the taunts spewed at the men in white tomorrow will surely include nothing they haven't heard before.

Michigan's consistent efficiency makes it too easy to dislike the Wolverines. Almost every year they follow the same formula to success: Run the ball with a great college tailback, throw it with a good quarterback and catch it with multiple NFL-caliber receivers. And almost every year their offense is nearly unstoppable.

That is what made last season so remarkable, when coach Lloyd Carr's team could do no better than 7-5, dropping from the rankings for the first time since 1998. Teams that Michigan would normally have beaten by two touchdowns were able to keep the games close. And, more often than in the past, those teams took the lead in the fourth quarter and hung on, knocking off the efficient beast.

Now, that was great, and it was refreshing to see because it was so rare. Plus, seeing Carr sport an hour-long scowl never grows old.

But, here we are again, back to normal as the Wolverines are no longer underachievers, coming into Beaver Stadium with an unblemished 6-0 record.

To hear ESPN College Gameday host Chris Fowler say "Meeshegan", using the accent of former Wolverines coaching great Fielding Yost, is to hear nails on a blackboard or a metal rake on pavement. Yost led Michigan to four consecutive championships at the turn of the century, outscoring opponents by a combined score of 2,821-42 in that time.

"Who are they that should beat a Michigan team," asked Yost with pomposity befitting a squad from Ann Arbor.

Absolutely diabolical.

Penn State fans detest Michigan in part because it always seems to get the calls on the field. Of course, the fact that Penn State hasn't beaten the Wolverines since 1996 doesn't help to ease the ill will.

But the epicenter of maize and blue hatred is Columbus, Oh., where many a perfect season have been ruined by the Wolverines. Ohio State fans cannot even bear to say their rival's name, instead referring to Michigan as "The school up north." Six times, Michigan has spoiled an Ohio State undefeated campaign, each time accounting for the Buckeyes' lone loss of the regular season.

Penn State fans can obviously relate, as it was Michigan that spoiled the Nittany Lions' bid for an 11-0 record last year.

The Lions can get their revenge this year, ruining Michigan's shot at an unblemished season and a national championship.

Now, for all the Michigan haters out there, wouldn't that be great?